Speaker details

Biography

Nicola Williams started her career as a barrister in private practice, practicing in criminal law, personal injury and police misconduct before specialising in Criminal Law, including three successful Commonwealth death penalty appeals before the House of Lords sitting as the Privy Council. She was a legal expert on BBC World for the OJ Simpson trial verdict in 1995 and was a member of the first Independent Advisory Group to the Metropolitan Police Service (following recommendations arising from the Stephen Lawrence Report [1999]). She has held four senior Ombudsman roles: as a Board Member for the Police Complaints Authority, as a Commissioner at the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), and as the Complaints Commissioner for the Cayman Islands. Her appointment in 2015 as the first ever Service Complaints Ombudsman for the UK Armed Forces made her the highest ranking Black person in UK Defence. She has been a part-time Crown Court Judge since 2010, and is a qualified Mediator. A former winner of Cosmopolitan magazine Woman of Achievement Award (Professions category), she is an active volunteer for the Speakers for Schools programme. She is a published author; her first novel Without Prejudice was chosen by Bernardine Evaristo and Penguin Books to be published as part of the Black Britain: Writing Back series in 2021; screen rights have been optioned. Her second novel, Until Proven Innocent, will be published by Penguin in March 2023.